WE BE Bloggin with LowCountry Joe®

Brand New Tractors and Dozers....Hmmmm

A few years ago my Bride and I were heading to Beaufort for a nice lunch and some antique shopping. Beaufort is about an hour from Hilton Head. About halfway there, I commented to Mary about three brand spanking new dozers clearing trees just behind a big sign saying "Furniture Store Coming Soon". "What in the world are they building all the way out here for "I wryly commented". Well....a year later the whole area was "ripe with construction". Homes were going up, small shopping areas were being built and the once quite South Carolina back road was turning into a small village. I then realized that the "Big Boys" with the "long dollar" knew what was happening many moons ago. They had done their research. The site of the furniture store was no fluke.

Now, I didn't go to school to eat my lunch. So now when I see brand new tractors and dozers each easily worth well in excess of $50 grand tearing up the landscape I sit up and take notice. And that's the reason for this blog. Seems like "more often than not" as I'm toodlin' down Fuskie's quaint dirt roads I am always "comin' up" on a another big brand new piece of bright shiny construction equipment.

Do the "Big Boys" know something I don't........Hmmmmmmmm

Mid-Island Fun; Shelter Cove & Palmetto Dunes

As a former long time resident of Hilton Head Island I must express my excitement about Shelter Cove &  Palmetto Dunes. This area has something for everyone's interest; golf, tennis, beaches, shopping, boating, tours, dining and happy hour.

The harbor of Shelter Cove provides breathe taking views of Broad Creek, easily seen from the restaurants and shops that circle the harbor. One can easily get lost trying to decide where to have a cocktail or purchase a unique gift from the Carolina LowCountry, a nautical map possibly. Entertainers dot the landscape during the evening hours during the summer. Be sure to look up on a Tuesday night to see the sky painted with fireworks.

The Shelter Cove Park now is the home to all of Hilton Head's festivals, my favorites are the Wine, Wing and Chili. a great place to be on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Local restaurateurs take pride in presenting their cuisines at these events. The park had to be created because over the last few years attendance has soared. 

A villa could be rented or purchased at Shelter Cove if your appetite craves the water and good times.

Palmetto Dunes with it's signature golf courses is always a favorite among linksters. I have fought the wind along the ocean and lost, but still came back for another thrashing. President Clinton played here during multiple New Year's holidays. The sun worshipers are privied to private beaches that reinforce why most people visit Hilton Head Island, it's beautiful beaches. If you like fried chicken, you need to lunch at the Palmetto Dunes General Store, trust me you will not be disappointed. 

For nightlife, there is the Hilton, a legend and favorite of guests and islanders for over twenty-five years. Please paste the link below to view a video of Shelter Cove/Palmetto Dunes.

http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=592845

David D'Arcy

Silver Dew in a Plastic

It was a wonderful Memorial Day weekend on Daufuskie Island. Most of the time I just "sat back" at the Silver Dew Winery, listened to Beach Music and Blues on JOHN FM and sipped on Silver Dew Wine.  I was in the middle of a great Muddy Waters Riff when a young couple in a golf cart stopped to visit. The driver, Ned, had a big stogy in his mouth and Lisa, better known as, Lovely Lisa, had a plastic cup full of an adult beverage in her hand. We exchanged pleasantries....I liked them instantly, and I began sharing the story of the History of the Winery. Lisa was all smiles and right in the middle of my prognostication told me the "roady" in the plastic was actually Silver Dew Chardonnay...Plus that, it was the third bottle they bought this weekend and she loved it! Welllllllllll now, was this a Memorial Day treat or what! I have been giving "tastes" for over seven years but no one has ever brought a glass of "The Dew" "TO" the Winery. It turns out Ned has taken a management position with "The Resort" and "Lovely Lisa" would be moving down soon. I guess I will have to stock up on the "Chard" cause when "Lovely Lisa" stops by "The Dew" will always "be on" old LowCountry Joe.......

Text Message

Folks are lined up at the front desk "checking out" and soon the idle chatter and laughter will turn to silence in the lobby of the Melrose Inn. For most, Memorial Day weekend is over, but for those of us that "Remember" it has just  begun. The normally quiet skies over the Carolina Lowcountry are filled with the roar of fighter jets from Beaufort Air Station and Veterans of Foreign wars are looking to the skies with tears in their eyes. They are saluting a new generation of brave men and women willing to "give it their all" and remembering their friends and comrades that never made it home.

A cell phone rings and a lovely young teenager, complete with braces, answers. Its a text message and with a giggle she returns the call. The young Lady doesn't know it, but she and her friends are the reason for the flyovers.  From Korea, to Viet Nam, to Germany and France young men fought and died to ensure peace and freedom for generations to come. They died by the hundreds and even thousands on any given day but folks at home echoed in response "Praise The Lord and pass the ammunition".

Things  have change and today if we loose one brave soldier  it makes front page of the Liberal New York Times.  It seems like many among us have forgotten that with Freedom comes a price. Most just don't "get it" ... they don't realize that there are evil people out there whose sole purpose in life is to kill every American...every man, woman and yes.....child.

Soon Memorial Day will be over, and many Americans will forget about our brave soldiers in combat. They will watch their baseball games, take their kids to soccer practice and the big news of the day will be the stupidity of Paris Hilton and Rosie O'Donnel's antics. I  just hope hope and pray that next year, this time, the young teenager I met today will still be free. I pray that she will not get a text message saying her friends somewhere in our wonderful Country have just been killed by a terrorist bomb.

CHRIS CRAFT "ARMY RANGER"

   Just over six weeks ago my friend, Michael, pictured to the left returned from the Middle East. He served over there for a year, upon his return he learned that his family is about to double in size. He and his wife are expecting twin boys this summer. He is going to retire this October after twenty years of service with the United States Army. In his tenure, he has been to the Middle East, Europe and Korea. This Cortland, New York native found Savannah and his home when he was assigned to this area by the Army.

As you can see, Michael is a boater and was adopted by the Chris Craft boat company during his recent tour of duty in Kuwait. His e-mail username is Chris Craft Ranger, named after two things he holds dearly, the United States Army and his boat the Vicenza. So if you happen to wonder down to River Street this weekend, you will see Michael entertaining guests on his boat and watching the Memorial Day celebration on River Street for the United States Armed Forces. So sit back and toast the military as they have protected your freedom since 1775.

David D'Arcy

Dive To The Jungle

The Camouflaged dark green C-130 circles high somewhere over the dense jungles of Viet Nam. Bright foliage nurtured by abundant rains stretch far into the horizon and seem to meet and touch the cloudless clear blue sky. To the untrained eye this vision would be one of beauty, the kind that is captured by a skilled painter that selects just the right color to portray the rising steamy mist. To the young pilot listening to a crackling radio and looking through his dark aviator glasses for a smoke flare, however, this vision means danger. He reacts instinctively putting the big steel bird into a steep dive. My heart begins to race….the tires hit a just built airstrip…the deafening sound of engines reversing replace the monotonous drone and the once clear sweet air fills with dust. On command the rear door drops open, sweltering heat and humidity engulf the cabin and within minutes our cargo is loaded. This work horse of a plane lunges forward and like an F-14 in an air show we go straight up, harnesses tight against my chest. Soon we are out of reach of the inevitable ground fire and with mission complete we make our way to the relative comfort and safety of Naha, Okinawa.

It’s Memorial Day weekend thirty nine years later and the festivities have just begun at Marshside Mama’s. An extra bar has been set up outside to accommodate the revelers and boats from Hilton Head and Savannah “raft up” on the small County dock. The aroma of Beth’s incredible gumbo wafts from the confines of her small kitchen and the sound of Budweiser snap tops blend in with the singing of the tree crickets. An industrious local has already started the obligatory campfire and I make the decision to spend part of my early evening just hanging out , roasting a few marshmallows, watching the sunset and talking about the Island’s History with curious guests. I’m right in the middle of the Yemmassee Indian uprising when the sound of an approaching low flying aircraft diverts our attention. One of the fire worshippers comment that it’s just the Coast Guard Helicopter doing their usual training run but once you have heard the drone of a C-130 you never forget it. Sure enough, direct overhead flies the workhorse of our military, probably from the Charleston Air Base, not painted green but camouflaged in timely shades of brown. 

Now I have seen these C-130’s fly over before….once there were ten in formation…and I rushed inside yelling to my Bride, Mary….”You got to see this”. But the sight of this lone aircraft on Memorial Day from my past that I had spent so much time in and always admired was just a bit to much to bear. Excusing myself I leaned up against an ancient live oak tree and recalled that day so many years ago as a pimple faced eighteen year old when I experienced my first “dive to the jungle”. You see, that was not just ordinary cargo we were picking up. It was green body bags of young guys just like me. They had dreams of the future and waited anxiously at mail call for that precious letter from home. I remember that seamlessly never ending trip to Naha shivering at high altitude from the cold and sharing that cargo hold with the lifeless bodies that gave their all and the ultimate sacrifice for their beloved country.

Someone puts a dollar in the jukebox and a song Jimmy Buffet wrote about Daufuskie blends in with chatter of the fun loving merrymakers. I make my way to the relative quietness of the dock adorned with an American flag tattered and torn since its unceremonious 9/11 hanging. My harmonica which I had planned to play for fun now is held in trembling hands. The sound of taps drifts over the stillness of the marsh as a tribute to my unknown comrades and to the pimple faced kids of today that are still giving it “their all”.

.....................................................................................................................................

*I wrote this story the first Memorial Day after 9/11. Since then it has taken on special significance to me and to many of you that read it that day.  One interesting note....when I searched for a picture of a C-130 I was directed to the Official US Air Force WEB Site. There,  in all its glory , was a picture of a 130 making a night landing at Clark Air Base in the Phillipines. I made that same landing many times. 

It's Shrimpin' Time

 It's May 23rd and Shrimpin' Time has once again arrived in the South Carolina Lowcountry.That's right....those incredably tasty morsels are in season and local Shrimpers are out in force. As they have done for a generation before them, Shrimpers will be dragging their nets hours on end with the hope of a great catch.

A few years ago I had the unique opportunity to go shrimpin' with a close friend. We were on the boat well before sunrise and didn't step foot on the dock again till almost dark. It was an incredable experience, but my Chamber of Commerce vision of a bright white shrimboat framed by blue skies above and blue waters below changed forever.

Most importantly, other than super hard dangerous work, I realized shrimpers today are a "dying breed". There's no question they are out hoping for that "big haul" but deep inside many shrimpers are out there because they simply love it. The following quote from The Island Packet says it all. "Even if I hit the lottery, I'm never going to stop shrimping," "Maybe I'll buy a super-trawler, but the biggest thing is just being out on the water. That's my life." And this shrimper just might have to hit the "Super Seven". In the year 2000 there were 900 shrimp boats licensed in South Carolina. Today there are less than half. Low Cost imported shrimp from as far away as Viet Nam and high fuel costs are making it tough for some of them to break even.

There is hope, however. The recent tainted Far East catfish scare and other reportes of bad fish just might make consumers think twice about imported seafood. And when you think about it, how in the dickens do they keep that fish fresh when it was caught or farm harvested half way around the world. Must use some real powerful chemical preservatives.

So the moral of this story is..... Eat American Shrimp. Ask for it at your grocery market. And if you are on the shore, ask for local shrimp. It's hard to believe but even with readily available fresh local shrimp, Hitlon Head stores still stock imported. But do not fear, Fresh Daily Lowcountry shrimp are now available at Blufftons Oyster company and my favorite Pub/Restaurant "Hudsons". So splurge.....get  a pound or two that were still wiggling a few hours ago and have them steamed right before your very eyes. Then you will know why Forrest Gump said he loved "friend shrimp, boiled shrimp, baked shrimp, sauteed shrimp, steamed shrimp, raw shrimp..............."

HILTON HEAD'S PALMETTO BAY MARINA

This beautiful oasis on the south end of Hilton Head Island I discovered in August of 1999. I promptly bought a two bedroom condo on the third floor in Palmetto Bay Marina Villas, or affectionately known to cab drivers as "guard gate, no guard." My view was unobstructed of Broad Creek and the surrounding marina. My purchase price was $133,000 and I sold it in 2005 for $292,000, not a bad investment.

What is special about this place is that you enjoy everything you came to Hilton Head Island for, but not having to fight the crowds. Most visitors have no idea this place exists under the Cross Island Bridge. My favorite experience was observing and listening to Carolina Thunderstorms roll up the creek around 5:00 pm during the summer time, what a show. As the evening paints the skies you enjoy a nice breeze flowing from the creek to cool your piece of Hilton Head Island. Why did I sell? I want to restore a historic home in downtown Savannah and this will help provide the means for me to do so by the end of 2007.

Other attractions, are the four wonderful restaurants that are only a five minute walk, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. On the patio that is shared by Captain Woody's and the Black Marlin you can take in the views and sip your cocktail, listening to music and enjoying the company of others on into the early morning hours. Even today, I still find myself visiting this area, even though i live in Savannah.

From October to March, an oyster roast is held here on the first saturday of each month. Bring your favorite hot sauce and enjoy. Say hello to my friend Kim, who manages the Black Marlin and to Shannon, Russell and Mike over at Captain Woody's. If you are real lucky, you may see the straw hat and the grey beard of LowCountry Joe enjoying some Carolina nectar. Please click the link below to view my video slide show of Palmetto Bay Marina.

http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=548704

David D'Arcy

Pancakes in Bluffton (Island Packet Article)

Seems like the folks at the Island Packet are into food this week.....and why not.....these pancakes are good. Nothing like sitting down to a big pile of cakes with real maple sugar all over them. Yum...

***************************************************************************************************************************

Lowcountry Tastes: The Original Pancake House

Pancakes. There was a time when they meant Dad was cooking, so it must be Sunday. Things have changed. They aren't just for Sunday breakfasts anymore, and Dad might be picking up the bill instead of flipping flapjacks.

• Photo: A New York-style cheesecake from The Original Pancake House. Treats like this one are served at the restaurant's daily "low tea" from 3 to 6 p.m.

When the urge to go out for breakfast hits, the Original Pancake House should be at the top of the list. Owned and operated by three siblings -- J.J., Eric and Charles Jim -- the Bluffton franchise restaurant came into being as a result of brother Eric's love of pancakes.

According to sister J.J., Eric ate at the local Original House of Pancakes in Plymouth, Mich., for 20 years and hit upon the idea of pursuing his golf game and love of pancakes in the Lowcountry upon his retirement. He asked his sister and brother to join him, and the restaurant opened its doors in August 2005.

Examine the menu and it becomes obvious that these aren't Dad's pancakes. From the Dutch Baby ("oven baked, served with whipped butter, lemon and powdered sugar," $7.95) to the 49'er Flapjacks ("plate-sized, chewy, and tender," $6.50), there are enough variations on this venerated breakfast staple to tempt any palate.

Crave waffles? They've got them plain ($4.55), with apples ($5.55), bacon ($5.95), blueberries ($5.95), coconut ($5.55), pecans ($6.25) or strawberries ($7.50). Want crepes? From the traditional French Crepes ($6.35) to the Fresh Fruit Continental Crepe ("sour cream, tempered with Triple Sec, topped with fresh fruit," $7.50), they've got them, too. Eggs run the gamut from the basic Ham and Eggs ($6.75) to the Fresh Vegetarian Omelette ($8.95.) And, weekdays, a variety of sandwiches are offered

for lunch.

What really makes this place unique is that every weekday from 3 to 6 p.m. an afternoon tea service is featured, with J.J. as your hostess. Guests partake of a "low tea," which includes a choice of several varieties of tea, "finger sandwiches," scones, clotted cream and preserves, fresh fruit and Swiss chocolates for $10 per person.

Lowcountry tastes: The Black Marlin Bayside Grill

Lowcountry tastes: The Black Marlin Bayside Grill

Next time on Hilton Head ya gotta chek out the Black Marlin Bayside Grill. The following Island Packet article "says it all". And if you are on a budget you can't beat the Happy Hour prices. Order the hot buffalo shrimp taco. Its not big but it is ever so tasty. And while you are at it say hello to Woody, the bartender. A fine gentleman and a fantastic bongo player. LowCountry Joe is a frequent happy hour visitor. Just look for the old guy with the beard and hat.

Island Packet

Published Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Within the confines of Palmetto Bay Marina, this restaurant and bar offers its clientele some real dining choices beyond the impressive lineup on its menu.

In the mood for a more formal dining experience? Inside the restaurant is an elegant and intimate dining area. The Black Marlin has just the area for a family dining experience sampling local seafood. And if your idea of going out to eat is casual and al fresco, they have an outside terrace and the Hurricane Bar.

Part of the Southeast Entertainment Restaurant Group, The Black Marlin opened its doors in November 2005 as Hemingway's Bayside Grill. According to manager Kim Seaglund, the restaurant was renamed The Black Marlin Bayside Grill this past March, expanded it menu, and now includes a weekend brunch featuring items such as Smoked Salmon Benedict ($8.75), Bananas Foster French Toast ($6.75), and Shrimp Hash ($9).

During a recent al fresco family lunch at the Black Marlin, my wife selected two fish tacos ($5.99), and a friend asked for the Chef's Salad ($8.99). My father ordered his favorite, the Bayside Seafood Roll ("Blend of chilled lobster, sweet bay shrimp and lump crab tossed in seasoned mayo with lettuce and tomato on a toasted hoagie roll," $12.99), and I couldn't resist the exotically named Black Marlin Super Torta ("Hot layers of breaded chicken breast, ham, chorizo, queso blanco, tomato, guacamole and chipotle mayonnaise on rustic bread," $9.99).

One word of advice: If chocolate

is a genuine craving for you and not just something sweet to eat, try the Chocolate Pudding Cake ($6) for

dessert.